I left off my Year In Review recap in March, when I drove across the country. After arriving safely in Cleveland, I traded in my California plates for Ohio ones and became an official Ohio resident. Completing my transformation from Californian to Ohioan was the start of my new job!
April
On April 1st I officially started work as the Program Manager at MOVABLE, a health and wellness startup in Cleveland. We're a young company and a small team but we're making big strides in getting groups of people (companies, schools, families) moving together.
When I moved to Ohio I was ready for a career change - I wanted a job that combined my passion for running with doing good in the world. In college I'd never really considered incorporating running into my career, but after a few years in the "real world" I realized that I wanted the joy of running to be part of my workday.
I began looking at health and wellness jobs in Ohio and in a serendipitous series of events, I found myself at my dream job at MOVABLE. The team and I spend our days helping people increase their daily activity and live healthier lifestyles, inspiring people with MOVbands and motivating them through MOVchallenges. What a great place to work for this joyful runner!
May
The month of May found me busy settling into my new role and trying to run fast on the roads (emphasis on the trying). Gram's passing, the move, the new job, and overall lots of change took its toll on my body and my running and I struggled mightily. As all runners know, not all runs are joyful, not all training segments go as planned, and not all races are PRs. It's times like these, where you're struggling and lacking motivation, that make you stronger.
June
Despite a tumultuous spring, I made the trip to Des Moines to compete at my first USA Outdoor National Championships. My 33:01 10k PR from 2012 had qualified me for this race and I'd been targeting it since the beginning of 2013. I'd seen some glimmers of hope in workouts and felt confident that I could hold my own. To the starting line I went...
...and I went slowly, slowly around the track 25 times. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't fun. It was humbling. It was an in-your-face reminder of how much had changed in year.
Despite all that, it was also valuable experience competing on the national stage and fuel for the 2014 fire...
Coming up next - the July-August-September recap!
April
On April 1st I officially started work as the Program Manager at MOVABLE, a health and wellness startup in Cleveland. We're a young company and a small team but we're making big strides in getting groups of people (companies, schools, families) moving together.
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| At a trade show in North Carolina |
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| The fabulous MOVABLE Team |
May
The month of May found me busy settling into my new role and trying to run fast on the roads (emphasis on the trying). Gram's passing, the move, the new job, and overall lots of change took its toll on my body and my running and I struggled mightily. As all runners know, not all runs are joyful, not all training segments go as planned, and not all races are PRs. It's times like these, where you're struggling and lacking motivation, that make you stronger.
June
Despite a tumultuous spring, I made the trip to Des Moines to compete at my first USA Outdoor National Championships. My 33:01 10k PR from 2012 had qualified me for this race and I'd been targeting it since the beginning of 2013. I'd seen some glimmers of hope in workouts and felt confident that I could hold my own. To the starting line I went...
...and I went slowly, slowly around the track 25 times. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't fun. It was humbling. It was an in-your-face reminder of how much had changed in year.
Despite all that, it was also valuable experience competing on the national stage and fuel for the 2014 fire...
Coming up next - the July-August-September recap!
